Commencement at the University of Notre Dame
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The University of Notre Dame's annual commencement exercises are held each May, currently in the Notre Dame Stadium. The exercises award undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Traditions[edit]
During commencement, the Laetare Medal is awarded.[1][2]
Notre Dame is known for inviting US presidents to deliver the commencement address, especially in the year of their inauguration.[3][4][5] Six recent presidents have delivered the address, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.[6] Most recently, Vice President Mike Pence spoke instead of President Donald Trump, as the president was visiting Saudi Arabia.[7][8] Notre Dame leads the non-military university by most presidents delivering the address at commencement.[9] Joseph Biden (who had previously spoken at commencement in 2016 as the awardee of the Laetare Medal) was invited in 2021, but could not attend due to scheduling issues.[10]
List of Commencement speakers[edit]
- 1861: John McMullen, priest and teacher from Chicago
- 1865: William Tecumseh Sherman, Union General during the Civil War
- 1867: T.E. Corcoran, editor of The Catholic Telegraph
- 1870: Paul Broder, professor from Beloit College, Wisconsin
- 1871: Augustus C. Dodge, U.S. Senator from Iowa
- 1872: Joseph Dwenger, Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana
- 1873: John J. Fitzgibbon, editor of The Western Catholic
- 1874: S. S. Hayes, Comptroller from City of Chicago
- 1875: J. S. Morris, from Vicksburg, Mississippi
- 1876: William J. Onahan, Chicago Catholic activist and businessman
- 1877: Frank H. Hurd, U.S. Congressman from Ohio
- 1878: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois
- 1879: No commencement exercises due to the great fire
- 1880: Edmund Francis Dunne, Chief Justice of Arizona
- 1881: W. W. Cleary, from Covington, Kentucky
- 1882: Silas Chatard, Bishop of Vincennes, Indiana
- 1883: John Ambrose Watterson, Bishop of Columbus, Ohio
- 1884: Ignacio Montes de Oca y Obregón, Bishop of Linares, Mexico
- 1885: The scheduled speaker Major General William S. Rosecrans canceled his commitment due to duties in Washington, D.C.
- 1886: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, [Illinois
- 1887: Richard Gilmour, Bishop of Cleveland
- 1888: P. F. Carr, from Denver, Colorado
- 1889: William P. Breen, Alumnus from Fort Wayne, Indiana
- 1890: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois
- 1891: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois
- 1892: John Samuel Foley, Bishop of Detroit, Michigan
- 1893: Robert Seton, priest from the Diocese of Newark, N.J.
- 1894: John Ambrose Watterson, Bishop of Columbus, Ohio
- 1895: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois
- 1896: Thomas A. Moran, judge from Chicago
- 1897: Joseph F. Mooney, priest from the Archdiocese of New York
- 1898: Maurice Francis Burke, Bishop of St. Joseph, Missouri
- 1899: John Lancaster Spalding, Bishop of Peoria, Illinois
- 1900: John J. Glennon, Bishop of Kansas City, Missouri
- 1901: John Shanley, Bishop of Fargo, North Dakota
- 1902: William P. Breen A.B. ’77, A.M. ’80 from Fort Wayne, Indiana
- 1903: John M. Gearin, attorney from Portland, Oregon
- 1904: Charles Joseph Bonaparte, attorney, progressive reformer, member of the Board of Indian Commissioners
- 1905: Marcus A. Kavanagh, judge from Chicago
- 1906: D. J. Stafford, priest and lecturer from Washington, D.C.
- 1907: John Talbot Smith, priest, author, lecturer from New York City
- 1908: Charles P. Neill, U.S. Commissioner of Labor
- 1909: Hannis Taylor, United States Ambassador to Spain, authority on international law
- 1910: Thomas Riley Marshall, Governor of Indiana
- 1911: Charles Fitzpatrick, Chief Justice of Canada
- 1912: Thomas F. Hickey, Bishop of Rochester, New York
- 1913: James M. Cox, Governor of Ohio
- 1914: Joseph E. Ransdell, U.S. Senator from Louisiana
- 1915: John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston and U.S. Representative
- 1916: Martin Joseph Wade, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa and Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
- 1917: Joseph Chartrand, Coadjutor, Bishop of Indianapolis
- 1918: Edward N. Hurley, Chairman of the United States Shipping Board
- 1919: Francis Bickerstaffe-Drew, English war chaplain and novelist
- 1920: Morgan J. O'Brien, Judge of the New York Supreme Court
- 1921: David I. Walsh, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
- 1922: Kickham Scanlan, Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, Chicago
- 1923: Thomas Lindsey Blayney, diplomat, veteran of the world war, educator from Rice University, Huston
- 1924: Woodbridge N. Ferris, U.S. Senator from Michigan
- 1925: Edmond H. Moore, Democratic National Committee member and attorney from Youngstown, Ohio
- 1926: Dudley G. Wooten, former U.S. Representative from Texas and Professor of Law at the Notre Dame Law School
- 1927: Alfred J. Talley, judge on the circuit court of appeals of New York City
- 1928: Francis O'Shaughnessy, attorney, Chicago
- 1929: Colonel William J. Donovan, former United States Assistant Attorney General and war hero from Buffalo, New York
- 1930: Claude G. Bowers, author, editor, orator
- 1931: Angus Daniel McDonald, Treasurer of the United States Railroad Commission
- 1932: Owen D. Young, New York City financier
- 1933: Paul V. McNutt, Governor of Indiana
- 1934: Frank C. Walker, Chairman of the National Emergency Council
- 1935: Shane Leslie, essayist, dramatist, lecturer
- 1936: William J. Mayo, cofounder of Mayo Clinic
- 1937: Dennis F. Kelly, president of The Fair Store, a Chicago department store
- 1938: Terence Byrne Cosgrove, attorney from San Francisco
- 1939: William Henry Harrison, Vice-President and Chief Engineer of AT&T
- 1940: David Worth Clark, U.S. Senator from Idaho
- 1941: Joseph P. Kennedy, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- 1942: J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI
- 1942-Winter: William F. Jeffers
- 1943: Arthur J. Hope, author and editor
- 1943-Winter: Harry F. Kelly, former Governor of Michigan
- 1944: Thomas J. Brennan, Notre Dame professor of philosophy
- 1945: Phillip S. Moore, dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School
- 1946: George Sokolsky, columnist
- 1947: General George C. Kenney, Chief of the Strategic Air Command
- 1948: Paul G. Hoffman, Director of Economic Cooperation Administration, Washington, D.C.
- 1949: John Stephen Burke, President of B. Altman and Company, New York City
- 1950-Winter: John F. Kennedy, U.S. Congressman (and later President of the United States of America)
- 1950: John J. Hearne, ambassador of Ireland to the U.S.
- 1951: Francis Patrick Matthews, Secretary of the Navy
- 1952: Charles Malik, Minister of Lebanon to the U.S.
- 1953: Detlev W. Bronk, president of the Johns Hopkins University
- 1954: James R. Killian, president of M.I.T.
- 1955: Herbert Brownell, Attorney General of the United States
- 1956: Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy
- 1957: Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- 1958: James P. Mitchell, Secretary of Labor
- 1959: John McCone, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission
- 1960: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States[11]
- 1961: Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., Director of the Peace Corps
- 1962: Henry Cabot Lodge, US Ambassador to the United Nations
- 1963: Lester B. Pearson, Prime Minister of Canada
- 1964: Thomas C. Mann, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
- 1965: McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- 1966: Barbara Ward, economist, London, England
- 1967: Eugene J. McCarthy, U.S. Senator from Minnesota
- 1968: James A. Perkins, president of Cornell University
- 1969: Daniel P. Moynihan, Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs
- 1970: James E. Allen, Jr., U.S. Commissioner of Education
- 1971: Kenneth Keniston, Yale Medical School
- 1972: Kingman Brewster Jr., president of Yale University
- 1973: Malcolm Moos, president of the University of Minnesota
- 1974: Rosemary Park, professor of education, UCLA
- 1975: Alan J. Pifer, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
- 1976: Vernon E. Jordan Jr., Executive Director of the National Urban League
- 1977: Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
- 1978: William F. Buckley Jr., editor of The National Review
- 1979: Joseph A. Califano Jr., Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
- 1980: Benjamin Civiletti, Attorney General of the United States
- 1981: Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
Ronald Reagan, then the President of the United States, addressed the graduating class of 1981 - 1982: Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
- 1983: Cardinal Joseph Bernadin, Archbishop of Chicago
- 1984: Loret Miller Ruppe, Director of the Peace Corps
- 1985: Jose Napoleon Duarte Fuentes, President of El Salvador
- 1986: Bishop James W. Malone, Bishop of Youngstown and president of the United States Catholic Conference
- 1987: Derek Bok, president of Harvard University
- 1988: Andrew Jackson Young, Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
- 1989: Peter Ueberroth, Commissioner of Major League Baseball
- 1990: Bill Cosby, actor and producer
- 1991: Margaret O'Brien Steinfels, editor of Commonweal
- 1992: George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States
- 1993: Tom Brokaw, NBC news anchor
- 1994: Albert Reynolds, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland
- 1995: Condoleezza Rice, Provost of Stanford University (later U.S. Secretary of State)
- 1996: Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand professor of law, Harvard University
- 1997: Mark Shields, political Commentator and columnist
- 1998: Joe E. Kernan, Indiana Lieutenant Governor
- 1999: Elizabeth Dole, president of the American Red Cross
- 2000: Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
- 2001: George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States
- 2002: Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet the Press
- 2003: Richard Lugar, U.S. Senator from Indiana
- 2004: Alan Page, Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
- 2005: Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation
- 2006: Mary McAleese, President of Ireland
- 2007: Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric
- 2008: Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C.
- 2009: Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States
Barack Obama at the commencement ceremony on May 17, 2009. - 2010: Brian Williams, anchor of NBC Nightly News
- 2011: Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense
- 2012: Haley Scott DeMaria, alumna and motivational speaker
- 2013: Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York
- 2014: Ray Hammond II Founder of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
- 2015: Lord Chris Patten (Lord Patten of Barnes), Chancellor of the University of Oxford[12]
- 2016: General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff[13]
- 2017: Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States[14]
- 2018: Sérgio Moro
- 2019: Peggy Noonan
- 2020: Bartholomew I of Constantinople (cancelled due to the COVID19 pandemic. The 2020 Commencement Celebration was held in 2022 and the speaker was John Crowley).
- 2021: Jimmy Dunne, Financier and Notre Dame Trustee
- 2022: Borys Gudziak, Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia[15]
- 2023: Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize[16][17]
See also[edit]
- Commencement at Central Connecticut State University
- List of commencement speakers at Harvard University
- List of Fordham University commencement speakers
References[edit]
- ^ "The Laetare Medal | Commonweal Magazine". www.commonwealmagazine.org. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Glendon to receive Laetare Medal from Notre Dame". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ Dreid, Nadia (6 December 2016). "U. of Notre Dame Is Undecided on Whether to Invite Trump to Speak at Commencement". The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs: The Ticker. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ "Notre Dame announces Pence will speak at graduation, sidestepping debate over a possible invite to Trump". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Looking back to the presidents that have spoken at Notre Dame's commencement". www.wndu.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ Johnson, Dirk (5 April 2009). "Invitation to Obama Stirs Up Notre Dame". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Analysis | Protesting Notre Dame students walk out of Pence's commencement speech". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Trump stresses arms deals and friendship at meetings with Arab leaders". NBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ Ostermeier, Dr Eric (27 February 2013). "Presidential Commencement Addresses: Notre Dame Reigns". Smart Politics. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ CNA. "Biden will not address Notre Dame commencement, was invited by the university". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ "Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
- ^ Report, South Bend Tribune. "Oxford chancellor named Notre Dame commencement speaker". Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "General Dempsey's inspirational commencement speech at Notre Dame (VIDEO)". 19 May 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Rosa Flores, Eric Levenson and Susannah Cullinane (22 May 2017). "Some Notre Dame graduates walk out at Pence speech". CNN. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Lanich, Carley. "Ukrainian archbishop to speak at 2022 Notre Dame commencement, delayed 2020 events announced". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
- ^ "Notre Dame announces 2023 commencement speaker". WSBT. 2023-02-27. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
- ^ "Nobel Peace Prize winner to give Notre Dame's 2023 commencement address". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
